


Cloned to Perfection

by fangirlingtodeath513



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - No Monsters, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blow Jobs, Brief Mentions of Torture (Not TFW), Canon-Typical Violence, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Time, Clones, Come Swallowing, Fugitives, Genetic Engineering, Government Conspiracy, Government Experimentation, Gun Violence, Hacking, Hand Jobs, Happy Ending, Human Experimentation, Interrogation, John Winchester Being an Asshole, M/M, Marine Castiel (Supernatural), Minor Charlie Bradbury/Jo Harvelle, Minor Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Minor Ellen Harvelle/Bobby Singer, Needles, Shooting Guns, Truth Serum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-11 00:56:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20144893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlingtodeath513/pseuds/fangirlingtodeath513
Summary: For thirty years, Dean’s been in the dark about a bombshell of a family secret. When an AWOL soldier shows up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, he’s shoved into a world he had no idea existed.He never asked to be cloned. He never asked to have his genome edited to make him a super-soldier. He didn’t even know. Now his fate rests in the hands of a ragtag group—Castiel, the AWOL soldier sent as a warning by Sam and Dean’s father; Charlie, an ingenious hacker and Dean’s best friend; and his brother Sam, who’s also being chased by the government for the same reason.Can they pull the rug out from under the military general who’s after their father’s research, or will Sam and Dean be doomed to live the remainder of their lives being experimented on by the military?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Destiel Harlequin Challenge. This is my first ever bang fic!! :D I've been sitting on this story for months now and I'm _so_ excited to finally share it with you all. 
> 
> Huge thank you to [galaxystiel](https://blueeyedangel.co.vu/) and [EllenOfOz](https://ellen-of-oz.tumblr.com/) for beta-reading this fic for me!

**June, 2145**

_ Knock, knock, knock. _

Dean frowns in the darkness of his bedroom, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he registers that the noise that woke him was indeed a knock on his front door and not some weird leftover from a dream. Sighing quietly, he kicks his blankets off his legs and swings them over the edge of the bed, stretching out his spine before eventually dragging himself to his feet. 

** _Knock, knock, knock_ **.

His frown deepens as the knocking gets louder, sparing a wince for his neighbors. 

“Alright, alright, I’m comin’. Calm the fuck down.” Running a hand through his hair, he tugs on a pair of pajama pants and makes his way to the door. A glance through the peephole reveals a man with dark, messy hair, standing with his arms behind his back. He unlocks the door but leaves the chain on, swinging the door open a couple inches. “Can I help you?”

The man’s eyes travel up the length of Dean’s body before meeting Dean’s gaze. If Dean wasn’t half convinced he’s dreaming, he’d swear there was lust in the man’s eyes. “Dean Winchester?”

“Depends on who’s asking.”

The man rolls his eyes, but his military stance only tightens. “Staff Sergeant Castiel Novak, Marines.”

Dean raises his eyebrows, feigning impressed. “Your hair’s kinda long for a marine, no?”

Castiel smirks. “I’m not active duty at the moment, but under normal circumstances, yes.”

Dean hums, closing the door and sliding the chain off, swinging it open wider. “What can I do for ya, Cas?”

“Your father sent me,” Cas murmurs, relaxing his military stance. “He’s concerned for your safety.”

Dean snorts. “My father? You sure you got the right guy? Last I checked, he didn’t give a shit about me.”

Castiel frowns and tilts his head to the side, not unlike an inquisitive puppy. A tiny voice in the back of Dean’s mind informs him that it’s utterly adorable, but he’s determined to ignore that voice. “Well, he sent me to warn you, and to give you this.” He holds out a plain manila folder that’s entirely devoid of writing and looks to only be a couple sheets thick. Dean takes it, motioning Cas inside as he heads for his breakfast bar.

“A folder, huh? You read it?”

“He specifically asked that I not read it before you.”

Dean smirks, raising an eyebrow. “And you listened?”

“Of course not. I may be military, but I know strange circumstances when I see them. Your father called me out of the blue after getting my number from my older brother—apparently they worked together. He handed me this three hours ago and specified that I bring it to you and make sure you meet up with your brother to pass him the information. He also asked me to tell you that he’ll meet you at the motel. I asked him which, but he wouldn’t say, he just said that you’d understand.”

Dean runs a hand through his hair, frowning. “I do, yeah. You wanna give me the TLDR for this thing?” he asks, motioning toward the file.

Cas shakes his head, eyebrows pinching together in what appears to be concern. “You should really read it for yourself. It’s… a lot.”

He presses the heels of his hands into his eyes, sighing. “Fine. If I’m gonna read some highly classified shit, I’m gonna need coffee. You want?”

“I wouldn’t be opposed.”

He leaves the file on his breakfast bar, sliding off the stool and heading for his Keurig. He slides a mug underneath and pops a K-cup into the machine. He leans against the counter and wills himself to wake up a bit more as the smell of fresh coffee envelops him. He slides the first mug across the bar to Cas and sets another up, grabbing the milk and sugar. He offers both to Cas, who shakes his head at the milk but adds two heaping spoonfuls of sugar. When his own coffee finishes, he adds a splash of milk and a spoonful of sugar, idly stirring as he drags the folder closer and flicks it open. He sips it as he reads.

** _Highly classified: For Master Gunnery Sergeant John Winchester’s team _ ** ** _only_ **

** _Case DW030450, SW04576_ **

_ July 13, 2114 _

_ After years of experiments, we’ve finally succeeded. Surrogate E211 has surpassed the first trimester with embryo DW030450, the furthest a surrogate has ever gotten with an embryo. E211 will continue to be monitored daily for any abnormalities, but the fetus is in line with normal fetal development and the surrogate appears healthy. _

_ October 16, 2114 _

_ E211 has completed her second trimester with embryo DW030450 with no complications. No progress on SW embryos. _

_ January 24, 2115 _

_ Embryo DW030450 has successfully been brought to term by E211 and is within correct height and weight classes for a newborn. Additional tests will be completed at a later date. _

_ March 12, 2116 _

_ Subject DW030450 is growing at a slightly elevated rate when compared to the average within the United States and shows increased intelligence. First steps were taken at 7 months old, and Subject has learned several basic words, like “yes”, “no”, “more”, “please”, and “help”. E211 continues to be involved in Subject’s life, including assisting in the development of the Subject and giving the necessary parental care. _

_ November 6, 2118 _

_ Surrogate E211 has successfully surpassed the first trimester with embryo SW04576. No complications. Subject DW030450 is progressing incredibly well, he is already beginning to read and write. He was able to successfully comprehend that he will have a younger brother and showed excitement. Night vision appears to be well above that of a normal human being, though further tests need to be completed for conclusive results. Subject averages four and a half hours of sleep per night with no detriment to energy levels. _

_ February 21, 2119 _

_ Surrogate E211 has completed the second trimester with embryo SW04576 with no complications. Subject DW030450 completed a specially designed obstacle course in half the time it took three different Marines, proving himself much more agile and nearly as strong as three full-grown and trained Marines. Subject is able to see clearly up to a distance of 40 feet/12.2 meters in both daylight and darkness, indicating that the genome edit for night vision took hold in this Subject. Subject continues to only need four and a half hours of sleep per night to function normally, and has difficulty sleeping beyond five hours. In testing, Subject has shown intelligence beyond that of a typical four year old; current intelligence is comparable to an average fourteen year old. _

_ May 2, 2119 _

_ Embryo SW04576 has successfully been brought to term by surrogate E211 and is within correct height and weight classes. Additional tests to be completed at a later date. _

_ March 4, 2132 _

_ Subject DW030450 has been accepted to three Ivy League colleges to study biomedical engineering. _

_ April 30, 2135 _

_ Subjects SW04576 and DW030450 both show increased intelligence, strength, agility, and an increased ability to see clearly in the darkness. Both Subjects also exhibit a decreased need for sleep, averaging 4-5 hours per night as a sixteen and twenty year old, respectively. Subject DW030450 has a 4.0 GPA at M.I.T. in the biomedical engineering program and has already secured a summer internship for 2135, as well as several different research opportunities with top professors in his field. _

_ March 6, 2137 _

_ SW04576 has been accepted to the pre-law program at Stanford University and intends to attend in the fall. Both Subjects continue to exhibit increased intelligence for their age groups, often equivalent to age groups 5+ years above them. _

The document continues on, charting his and Sam’s progress through the years, but he can’t read anymore. He feels like he might be sick. “We’re… what?”

Cas taps the folder lightly. “You should read the very last page. It’s a newspaper article.” 

Warily, Dean sets his coffee aside and flips to the last page of the file. Sure enough, it’s a clipped newspaper article with a picture of a house on fire; most of the top floor is gone, and flames are billowing out the first floor windows. 

** _Lawrence disaster_ **

_ This past Saturday, a house in Lawrence caught fire in the middle of the night. Neighbors were quick to respond and call the fire department, but the house was almost completely engulfed by the time they arrived. The only survivor of the fire was John Winchester. He lost his wife, Mary, and two sons, Dean, 4, and Sam, 6 months. Mr. Winchester is in critical condition in Lawrence Memorial Hospital, though doctors expect him to be transferred to the Grossman Burn Center in Kansas City, Missouri. _

Dean frowns, swallowing past the lump in his throat. “He… named us after his dead kids?”

“From what I could tell, based on my quick read-through… you _ are _ his kids. He used their DNA to make… you,” Cas replies softly, like Dean might spook if he raises his voice too loud. It’s not an unfounded idea, if Dean’s being honest, especially after what he’s just read.

Dean drags his coffee closer, downing the rest of the mug in three swallows. He opens his mouth to complain, but snaps it shut and puts a finger to his lips, relieved when Cas nods. 

Footsteps. Dean can hear them on the stairs at the other end of the hall. They’re trying to be quiet, but the boots they’re wearing won’t let them. Dean closes his eyes and focuses on the sounds. Five, maybe six pairs of feet in what sounds like combat boots. That doesn’t bode well. 

“Do you have a gun on you?” he asks, glancing over at Castiel.

“A handgun, yes. Should we leave?” 

“Yeah. Out my bedroom window, there’s a fire escape.” 

Cas nods, swiping the folder off the bar and tucking it under his arm. Dean points him toward the bedroom, grabbing his own M1911 from the lockbox in his bedroom, tucking it in his waistband and climbing out the window after Castiel.

“Down or up?” Cas murmurs, eyeing the window.

“Down’s our best bet. I don’t see anyone on the street, and I doubt they expected us to know they were coming.” He starts down the fire escape, kicking the final ladder down as quietly as he can. 

“We can take my car, I’ve got spare license plates and it’s inconspicuous.” 

Dean raises an eyebrow at him but doesn’t press him to elaborate. Not yet. He’ll get that story out of the soldier in due time. “Lead the way, then.”

Just as they round the corner, two things happen: a gunshot cracks through the air, and Cas grabs Dean’s shirt collar and yanks him backwards until his entire front is pressed to Dean’s back. 

“Turn around and run,” Cas whispers. Dean nods, and they both spin and set off in a sprint. Dean lags just a half step behind Cas, following the soldier to his car. 

They manage to reach it unscathed, with Cas unlocking it and climbing in the driver’s seat. As Dean reaches for the passenger door, Cas rolls the window down and shouts, “Duck!” Dean doesn’t even think twice, he just drops to his knees on the pavement and covers his head. He hears a gunshot from his left, which has to be Cas, and then he hears a body thud to the ground. He risks a glance and sees a pair of combat boots to his right, no doubt attached to the body of one of their ambushers. “Dean! Get in, we need to go.” 

Nodding, he slides in the passenger’s seat and buckles himself in as Cas pulls onto the road. Frowning, he slides his phone out and pulls up Sam’s contact. 

_ >Poughkeepsie. _

He can see Cas watching him out of the corner of his eye, so he pulls up Google Maps. “Telling my brother to get out. Dad—er, _ John _, made us remember this code word and made us swear anytime one of us used it, we’d all drop what we were doing and meet up at a specific motel. Sam’ll meet us there.” He types in the address and taps the start button. “I’m sure John will, too,” he adds bitterly. 

“How far is it?” 

“About twelve hours from here. You good to drive or do you want me to?” 

“I’m alright for now. Get your rest and I’ll wake you in four hours, we can switch off then.” 

  
Dean nods, propping his arm against the window and resting his head on it, letting his eyes slip closed. The guy _ did _ just save his life, if Cas wanted him dead, he could’ve just let the mercenary—or whatever he was—kill him. Probably safe enough to sleep next to.


	2. Chapter 2

Cas wakes him four hours later as they pull off onto a deserted road to switch off driving. Cas changes the license plates, tossing the originals in his trunk. 

Dean raises an eyebrow at him when he finally gets back in the car. “You just keep spare license plates in your trunk, huh?” 

Cas shoots him a wry smile as he buckles himself in. “I didn’t used to, but I’m in the habit now, yes.” 

“Anything I should be concerned about?” 

Cas sighs. “I will tell you, I just want to wait until your brother’s read the file. It affects both of you.” 

Dean frowns but acquiesces. Cas is a trained soldier—if he doesn’t want to share, Dean won’t be able to get anything out of him. He pulls the car back onto the road, careful to stay within the speed limit so they avoid any police interference. 

Dean drives the rest of the way to the motel. Cas sleeps nearly the whole way there, blinking sleepily over at Dean when they’re half an hour away from the motel. 

“Mornin’, sunshine.” Dean smirks, pulling off the highway and winding through the side roads to the motel. Cas mumbles something back that Dean can’t quite make out and stretches himself out with a quiet groan that is  _ all _ kinds of hot. Frowning, Dean shakes his head in an attempt to clear the thought away, turning his attention back to the road. No way is he falling for a soldier who showed up in the middle of the night with a file all about John’s experiments.

Sam’s car is already in the lot when Dean pulls in. He breathes a sigh of relief, parking near the small office to check in. He and Cas both step out of the car and head into the office, though Cas lags a few steps behind. The guy at the desk—a scrawny blond guy who can’t be much more than eighteen—looks up at them disinterestedly. “We’ve only got a king left.” 

“I think my party may have checked in already. Rockford?” 

He sees the recognition in the kid’s eyes and takes the key card he offers with a quiet, “Thank you.” He inclines his head toward the door, heading back outside once Cas nods. The soldier follows him to the end of the row of rooms, climbing the stairs to the second floor after Dean. He slides the card through the lock, body sagging with relief when he hears the click that signals the door unlocking. He pushes the door open and steps inside with Cas, only to be greeted by his younger brother rubbing sleep from his eyes and aiming a handgun at Dean’s forehead. Dean waves it away, rolling his eyes. “Put it away, kid. Just us. Have a nice sleep?” 

Sam smirks, clicking the safety back on and setting the gun on the bed next to him. “Yeah, great, actually. I was a bit closer than you and your new friend, apparently.”

Dean hums, waving a hand at Cas as he turns in search of a coffee machine. “This is Cas.” 

“Staff Sergeant Castiel Novak. You must be Sam.” Castiel crosses the room, offering Sam a hand.

“Or so John says,” Dean mutters under his breath, just loud enough for Cas to hear him, who frowns in response but doesn’t say anything. Dean busies himself making coffee while Cas hands the file over to Sam. 

“I’m sorry to spring this on you, but it’s pertinent information. You should read it, preferably as quickly as possible. I’m not certain we’re safe here.” 

Sam raises his eyebrows but doesn’t comment, he just sits up against the headboard and flips the file open. Dean can’t bear to see his brother read it, so he focuses everything he has on making the three of them coffee. While he’s waiting for it to brew, he checks his phone. Sometime last night, he’d gotten a text from John. 

_ <Ugh, got something stuck to my shoe _

Frowning, Dean shows the text to Sam while Castiel watches them curiously.

“That’s not good,” Sam mutters, thumb and forefinger rubbing his eyes.

“What is it?”

Dean shows Cas the text. “It’s a code. He’s being followed, so he’s not gonna meet us.”

Cas frowns. “Well, we have to find him. He’s the only one that knows where to go from here.”

Sam and Dean exchange a look, then Dean shrugs. “I kind of agree with him. That’s obviously just his notes, not the entire process. That’s what they’re after.”

“Who is  _ they _ , exactly?” Sam asks, eyes skimming the file as they talk.  Sam’s got a good poker face, but Dean grew up with the kid. He knows how to read Sam like an open book. Despite the resolute calm Sam is insistent on projecting, the tense set of his jaw and the clenched fist in his lap both give away how truly angry he is. Dean can sympathize. John had no right to do this to them, he had no right to play God like this. Given the man Sam and Dean had grown up with, however, it’s not entirely unbelievable. John is definitely the type to have a God complex. Frankly, Dean’s a little surprised that there aren’t more clones running around.

“Mercenaries, I guess? I don’t know. Cas and I were ambushed when we left my apartment, but they weren’t wearing uniforms or anything.”

“They weren't mercenaries,” Cas corrects, eyebrows pinched. “They were soldiers. The government is after you, among other entities. That’s why John sent me. He wanted you to know everything so you could protect yourselves.”

Sam snorts. “How kind of him. Explains a lot about our childhoods, though.” 

Dean hums his agreement, passing a cup of coffee to Sam and Cas, settling against the small table under the window. The cheap wood creaks under his weight, but he pays it no mind. “So what’s the game plan, then? We can’t go to the police, obviously. They’ll just report back to the government.”

“I’m telling you, we have to find John. Maybe if he gives the government the information they’re looking for, they’ll leave both of you alone,” Castiel insists, eyes flickering between Dean and Sam.

“You  _ want _ them to have the technology to make super humans?” Dean scoffs, setting his coffee down and crossing his arms. “Dude, no way. They can’t get that information under any circumstances.”

Sam glares at him. “I didn’t ask for this and I’m not gonna give up the life I’ve made for myself because our father made us in a laboratory and didn’t tell anyone, Dean! It’s not my responsibility.”

Dean holds up a hand, eyebrows drawn together. “Whoa, hang on, we can’t just give the United States the ability to make super-human clones, Sam. They commit enough atrocities without it, can you imagine how bad it would be if they had this tech?”

Sam glares at him, but Dean can see his brother’s position softening. After a minute, he sighs and runs a hand through his sleep-ruffled hair. “I know you’re right, as much as I don’t like it. The things they could do with tech like this… they can’t have it,” Sam mutters, shaking his head. 

“I still think we need to find John. Whether you give them the tech or not, John’s the one with all the cards here.”

Dean sighs. “You were the last one to see him. Where’d you meet him?”

“A parking lot in Topeka. He wanted somewhere nondescript so no one would notice us. He went east out of the parking lot, but he could’ve gone any direction from there.”

“Okay, so Topeka’s the last place anyone saw him. Sammy, you got your laptop?”

Sam nods, digging through his bag and producing a slim silver laptop, passing it across the table to Dean. Dean types on it for a few minutes before frowning and turning it so the screen faces Sam and Cas.

“His phone’s on and it’s in Pueblo, Colorado.” 

“Colorado?” Sam asks, pulling the laptop closer. “Why would he be in Colorado?”

“Where does he live?” 

Dean glances at Cas. “Wichita. Always has, that’s where Sammy and I grew up.”

Frowning, Cas leans over Sam’s shoulder to look at the laptop. “Pueblo is quite a ways away from that, and it’s in a completely different direction from us, so he likely never left to make his way here.”

“Yeah, it looks like he went for Colorado instead. Why?” Sam frowns, pulling the laptop to him and typing for a few seconds. “He’s been there for a couple hours, or at least his phone has.”

“Well we can’t go there, it’s obviously a trap,” Cas points out, frowning down at the table. “If we could see surveillance footage, maybe we’d have something to go off of. I don’t have clearance for that, though.”

“We could hack it, but that’s a bit above my pay grade,” Sam suggests with a shrug, glancing at Dean. “Think you could?”

Dean shakes his head, crossing his arms. “It’d take me a while. I have a friend who might be able to help us, she’s not far from here.” Dean digs his phone out of his pocket, stepping out of the motel room to call Charlie. She answers on the third ring, still half asleep. 

“Dean? Is everything okay?”

He runs a hand through his hair, sighing. He hates to drag Charlie into this, but it’s tipped over into a life-or-death situation now, so he doesn’t really have a choice. “I need your help. How fast can you get to the Motel 6 in Evanston, Wyoming?”

He can practically see Charlie’s frown in his mind’s eye. “Maybe an hour or so? Why are you in Wyoming?”

“It’s a long story and I promise I’ll tell you when you get here. Just… get here as soon as you can. Please,” Dean adds, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. Charlie has every right to say no and he wouldn’t even blame her, he’s asking a lot. 

“Okay. Do you need me to bring anything?”

Movement in the parking lot catches his eye and he ducks down behind the railing quickly. He sends a quiet thank-you to fate that these railings aren’t slotted, giving him at least a little bit of cover. Despite Charlie repeating her question in his ear, he can still hear the heavy thud of military boots on the pavement of the parking lot. “Scratch that, Charlie, I’ll come to you. I’ll call you when we get close.”

The sounds of the boots are fading into the background, in the direction of the office. Dean scrambles back into their room and puts a finger to his lips, voice barely above a whisper when he speaks. “We need to go. They must’ve followed us here. Get your stuff and let’s go.”

Castiel obeys immediately, slinging his bag over his shoulder and following Dean outside. Sam’s a little slower, but once he gathers that it’s serious, he shoves everything into his bag and trails behind the other two, glancing nervously back at the office.

They take the stairs at the other end of the walkway as quietly as they can, wrapping around the back of the motel and into the woods behind it. 

“We’ll have to steal a car, there’s no way to get back to ours,” Cas murmurs, glancing behind them as they hear a loud bang, no doubt the door of their room being kicked open. 

As soon as they hear that, they book it. Sam and Dean may be genetically engineered for enhanced speed, but Castiel has no issues keeping up. Dean even sneaks a peek or two at the fabric of Castiel’s jeans tightening around his thighs, but who can blame him? It’s a fantastic sight, especially after the night they’ve had. 

They reach the other side of the woods in less than ten minutes. Their sprint deposits them in a Target parking lot, which works just fine for them. Sam points out the cameras and Cas picks an inconspicuous car in one of the blind spots. Dean’s got it unlocked and hot-wired in under a minute. Sam climbs in the back seat with his and Cas’s bags as Dean and Cas take the front seat. They’re out of the parking lot in three minutes, long before the soldiers behind them could get there.

They ditch the car a couple hours later on the side of a deserted road and take a different car. Dean expects Cas to complain, what with him being a soldier, but he never does. In fact, he even offers to drive the new car so Sam and Dean can discuss the file and their plan. Under any other circumstances, they would, but Dean’s got something else on his mind.

“So you’re AWOL, right?” Dean asks as he settles into the passenger’s seat of the old car, moving the seat back so he can stretch his legs out.

Sam’s head snaps up so fast that Dean genuinely has no idea how the kid doesn’t break his neck. Castiel, on the other hand, just smiles as he pulls onto the road. “I am. How did you know?”

Dean shrugs, shifting to lean back against the door. “Educated guess. Your hair’s long, you’re in civilian clothes, and you’re here doing the exact opposite of what the military would like you to do, probably. You’re the one they’re tracking, not me and Sammy.”

Castiel frowns at the comment, though it’s definitely more thoughtful than insulted. He shifts in his seat, pulling out a flip phone and tossing it on Dean’s lap. “I turned the GPS off, but maybe they found a way to turn it back on without me knowing. Destroy it. You should destroy both of yours as well, or at least take the SIM cards out.” Dean raises an eyebrow, rolling down the window and tossing Cas’s phone out, quickly followed by his and Sam’s SIM cards. “It could very well have been you, you know. You were using your GPS last night.”

Dean hums nonchalantly, rolling the window back up. “Doesn’t matter who it was. We’re all fine and we escaped them a second time, I’d say we’re doin’ pretty well,” Dean replies with a cocky grin, directing Cas onto the highway. 

They pull up in front of Charlie’s house an hour later, Sam and Cas idling in the driveway while Dean hops up the three steps to her front door and knocks. Charlie’s quick to answer, like she’d been waiting since Dean called. 

  
“Is everything okay? What’s going on? You sounded anxious on the phone.”

Dean chuckles. “Hey, Charlie. Yeah, it was a great drive here, thanks for asking.”

Charlie rolls her eyes, punching his bicep before yanking him into a crushing hug. “You scared the hell out of me, dude! Don’t do that again.”

Smiling, Dean hugs her back. “I didn’t do it on purpose, Charles. I hate to frighten you even more, but we gotta go. Grab whatever you need to hack into surveillance video and then come with us.”

Charlie squints at the car Cas and Sam are occupying, concern evident on her face. “Who’s the dark-haired Ken doll driving?”

Dean bites back a laugh, shaking his head. “I’ll explain everything on the way. I’m serious, we need to get going.”

Charlie frowns at him but nods and heads back into her house. She grabs a bag off the floor and stuffs her laptop in, along with a few other things that Dean only catches glimpses of. 

“You might want to leave your phone here. It seems like we’re being tracked, and I’m sure they know I called you.”

Charlie sets her phone on the counter with a pointed glance at Dean, who holds his hands up and smiles softly. 

“I’m gonna tell you, I promise. Ready?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to be somewhat kidnapped, but lead the way.”

Charlie climbs in the back seat next to Sam, setting her bag between them. Dean climbs in the front, and then they’re back on the road. Castiel doesn’t ask for a destination, and Dean doesn’t give one. Not yet. 

“So does someone want to explain what’s going on?” Charlie pipes up, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Dean in the rearview mirror. 

Dean smiles to himself. Charlie’s cementing herself as one of Dean’s favorite people. “Sam and I are genetically engineered clones of our father’s dead children. We were engineered to be super soldiers, which is what he was researching for the military, and he clearly figured it out, but it doesn’t seem like he ever told the government that. So now they know and they’re after me and Sam. Cas, here—” Dean claps him on the shoulder, his stomach fluttering when Castiel shoots him a fond smile, “—brought us a file explaining all that from our dad, and now he’s apparently helping us escape. He’s also AWOL, though we haven’t quite learned why yet.”

Castiel glances over at Dean with a wry smile. “Six months ago, I was given orders to find Master Gunnery Sergeant John Winchester and collect him for military prosecution. I wouldn’t have had a problem with it, but my older brother reached out. Apparently Michael worked with John in his lab and agreed that the government shouldn’t have this technology, so he helped John hide.”

“You’ve been AWOL for six months?” Sam asks. “Why so long?” 

“I wanted to meet your father to discuss things, but he refused to see me until I’d disappeared enough that the military wasn’t looking for me anymore. Apparently that took six months.” 

“Where have you been since you went AWOL?” Charlie asks, sitting forward in her seat. “It’s not like you could check into a hotel with your credit card or something.” 

Castiel smiles. “I couldn’t, you’re correct. I’ve mostly been staying in my car, or cash-only motels that don’t require ID. There’s a surprising number of those throughout the country.”

Dean hums, shifting in his seat so he can see Charlie. “So anyway, now the government’s after us and John’s missing. He’s the only one that has the information on how to genetically engineer people, so we need to find him.” 

Charlie narrows her eyes at him. “You’re not going to hand that information over to them, are you?”

“No,” Sam answers firmly, eyes meeting Dean’s gaze before shaking his head. “Absolutely not. They can’t have this technology.” 

Charlie visibly relaxes, nodding. “So you need me to find John, yeah? Easy.” 

Dean and Sam exchange a look, the former clearing his throat before he speaks, “Well, here’s the thing… we know his phone is in Pueblo, Colorado. But that’s a different direction than the motel we were supposed to meet at, and it’s way far away from Wichita, so we were kinda hoping you could pull up surveillance footage from around where his phone is and figure out what the hell’s going on.” 

Charlie nods. “Still easy. I do need an internet connection for that, though.”

“Starbucks? There’s one nearby, I saw it on the way here,” Sam points Cas in the right direction and they’re there in a couple of minutes. The four of them pile out of the car and head inside. Dean gets them all coffees while Charlie gets set up at one of the tables in the corner. The coffee gets distributed and Dean and Cas split a pastry, both of them smiling to themselves when their hands brush, eating quietly as Charlie works. 

After a while, Charlie raises an eyebrow in Cas’s direction. “Are we trusting him, given none of us have ever met him and it’s the government that’s after you? He technically works for the government.” 

Castiel raises his eyebrows in surprise. 

“I am,” Dean answers with a shrug. “He saved my life. Twice. If he was working for them, he had more than one opportunity to take me to them and he didn’t.” 

Charlie hums quietly, nodding. “Works for me. In that case, I found him.” She turns the laptop around so the three of them can see the video. It’s dark and grainy but it’s clearly John being dragged into a building by two men in full military outfits. They pause at the door and one scans his hand, then leans close to the door for a moment before standing up straight again. 

“Iris scan,” Cas explains, frowning. “Why didn’t I connect this earlier? There’s a blacksite in Pueblo, usually used for secret medical experiments the government conducts.”

Sam raises his eyebrows, eyes narrowing in Cas’s direction. “And you know that how?” 

Cas glances around the table, clearing his throat. “Perhaps I should’ve been more forthcoming. I have a doctorate in biomedical engineering, courtesy of the United States. They hired me as the lead of a team conducting experiments all over the country. I’ve never been to the Pueblo site, but I know of it, and I have access to it.” Cas frowns, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. “At least, I did before I went AWOL. I have no doubt they wiped my clearance. But maybe…” Cas trails off, glancing up at Dean. 

“Maybe if you weren’t actually AWOL, but kidnapped, they’d reinstate your clearance,” Dean finishes with a smirk. It’s a good idea, and a safe bet. If Cas is as key to the team as he thinks he is, they shouldn’t have any problem reinstating him. 

“How are we gonna prove he was kidnapped?” Charlie asks, eyebrows pinched in confusion.

“We don’t have to. He’s been with Dean the last few days, and they know that. At least, the people after them know that. He can just say Dean’s been hiding him and the last few days should corroborate that.” Sam answers, grinning at Dean and Cas. “It might work. It’s dangerous, but it may just work.” 

Castiel nods, finishing his coffee and tossing the cup. “We should get going. Pueblo’s a long drive, and if we’re going to get to John, we’ve got a plan to make.”

Dean nods his agreement, following Castiel out to the car, Sam and Charlie hot on his heels. “We’ll drop Charlie off and then head for Pueblo.” 

“Whoa, hang on, Charlie didn’t agree to that!” She huffs, crossing her arms as she refuses to get in the car. “I’m coming with you.” 

Dean raises an eyebrow, shaking his head. “Too dangerous, Charlie. We’re going up against the U.S. government. If we pull this off, we’ll be on the run for the rest of our lives.” 

“I’m coming with you,” she repeats, eyebrows raised as if daring Dean to disagree with her. He’s known Charlie long enough to know that’s a dumb idea, so instead he sighs and waves at her to get in the car, climbing in himself.

“Pueblo it is, then.”


	3. Chapter 3

They split the drive to Pueblo in half, spending the night in a busy motel just off the highway, doing their best to blend in. They switch cars before they leave in the morning, Dean driving with Charlie in the front while Sam and Cas quietly plan in the back. 

“So, you’ll just say you managed to escape as Dean was driving through Pueblo and you knew about the blacksite, so you went there,” Sam murmurs, tapping a pen against his lip as he thinks. “They’ll probably give you clearance relatively quickly, so the three of us will just lay low until then.” 

Cas nods. “The motel we agreed on. I’ll meet you there once my clearance is reinstated, and then I’ll be able to get you in and get you to John.” 

They check into a different motel, Sam and Charlie on one end and Dean and Cas on the other. If anyone’s watching, they’ll need to make it believable, and Cas wouldn’t be able to escape from a moving car. He and Cas settle in for the night, with Cas insisting on going over the plan one more time. 

It’s a solid plan. Cas will “escape” in the middle of the night and make his way over to the blacksite under cover of darkness. He’ll be interrogated about his whereabouts, of course, but Cas is confident that he can fool them. They’ll reinstate his security clearance and get him back to work, and then Cas will come find the three of them and help them break John out. It’s nowhere near foolproof, but it’s a good plan and really the only one they have. As long as Cas can pull off his side of it, they should be able to get John out without anyone realizing, at least for a little while. After that… well, they can cross that bridge when they get to it.

Dean grabs a beer from the fridge and offers one to Cas, who politely declines it. 

“So,” Dean says, taking a small sip of his beer. “Dangerous mission tonight.”

Castiel cocks an eyebrow in his direction, nodding. 

“Guess it’s time to eat, drink, and make merry,” Dean finishes with a smirk, leaning against the table Castiel’s sitting at. 

  
Castiel smirks, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows. “Well we’ve already eaten, and I’m not planning on drinking anything, so what exactly do you mean by ‘make merry’?”

“You can interpret it any way you want, Cas,” Dean purrs, mirroring Castiel’s position and crossing his arms. He makes sure Cas is staring at him before he licks his lips suggestively. 

Castiel stands, crowding Dean against the wall with a hint of a smile on his lips. “You should be careful, propositioning a soldier like that. Most still don’t take very kindly to it.”

Dean raises an eyebrow, hoping that Cas can’t feel how fast Dean’s heart is beating right now.  Frankly, Dean’s not entirely sure Castiel  _ does _ return his feelings. Dean still half believes he imagined the lust in Castiel’s eyes when they’d first met. That being said, he’s probably going to be captured by the military and experimented on for the rest of his life due to this half-assed attempt to get John out of their clutches, so why not give whatever this thing is he feels for Castiel a shot? “Most?”

Castiel smiles, leaning closer until their mouths are just inches apart. “I happen to be  _ very _ gay, and I’d be blind to not notice how attractive you are.  I think you knew that, though .”

Maybe it  _ was _ lust he’d seen in Castiel’s eyes, then. Smirking, Dean grabs onto the back of Cas’s neck and hauls him into a bruising kiss. Cas is quick to respond, hands curling into the front of Dean’s shirt as his tongue sweeps along the seam of Dean’s lips. Cas pulls away after what feels like only seconds and Dean barely has a chance to take a breath before his t-shirt is tugged off of him and Cas’s mouth is back on his, hands roaming the newly-exposed skin of Dean’s torso. His hands are warm and the blunt scrape of his nails down Dean’s chest leave goosebumps in their wake. 

Cas presses a line of hot, wet kisses along Dean’s jaw as his hands slide down and effortlessly pop the button of Dean’s jeans. It’s only then that Dean realizes, much to his dismay, that Cas is still fully clothed. Huffing quietly at the imbalance, he grabs the hem of Cas’s t-shirt and blindly tugs up until  the offending fabric has been successfully tossed aside. Cas huffs a laugh against Dean’s neck, hands quickly sliding back down to the zipper of Dean’s pants. 

“I’m guessing you don’t have lube?” Cas murmurs against Dean’s lips, his hands already pushing Dean’s jeans and boxers down. 

Dean laughs, breaking away from their kiss to raise an eyebrow at him. “You think I took the time to grab lube from my bedroom while we were being ambushed by soldiers? No, Cas, I don’t have any lube.”

Castiel glares at him, though it’s nothing more than playful. “Well, excuse me for asking. In that case, I suppose we’ll have to settle for hands and mouths.”

Raising an eyebrow, Dean smirks and takes the opportunity to step out of his remaining clothes and work on getting Cas completely naked. “You asking or offering?”

Castiel smirks, stepping out of his jeans and kicking them aside. “Both.” 

Dean grins, tugging at Cas’s hips until they’re flush against Dean’s own, relishing in the soft groan he gets from Cas. He rolls his hips up as he pulls Cas into another kiss, this one rougher and more desperate than the last. Cas’s hand finds its way into Dean’s hair, tugging gently as they rut against each other. 

Dean’s already embarrassingly close, so he gently pushes Cas toward the bed and draws in a few deep breaths in a vague attempt at calming down. Cas seems to be in the same state, chest heaving as he catches his breath. Dean settles between his spread legs, arms on either side of the soldier’s head as he kisses and licks his way down every inch of his torso, determined to find every single spot that makes Cas shiver. 

By the time his meandering trail of kisses reaches Cas’s hips, the soldier below him is a gasping mess, hips rocking up in search of friction and a hand tangled in Dean’s hair. In any other circumstance, Dean would be content to tease him like this for the rest of the night, but they don’t have the rest of the night, so he nips at the soldier’s hips before moving to swipe his tongue over the head of his cock, groaning softly as he gets his first taste of Cas. 

When he finally wraps his lips around the head, the answering moan he gets is almost enough to make Dean come right there, but he wills the feeling away, instead focusing on giving the best blowjob he’s ever given. He pulls out every trick he’s learned—swirling his tongue around the head and teasing the frenulum, his hand stroking what he can’t fit in his mouth. If the moans he’s getting are any indication, Cas is enjoying himself, which only spurs Dean on. His hands make their way lower, one grabbing onto the meat of a thigh while the other rubs the smooth skin behind Castiel’s balls. The hand in Dean’s hair tightens at that, nearly tipping over to the side of pain as he continues to rub there. He flattens his tongue against the bottom of Cas’s cock, eyes flicking up to watch Castiel. 

He’s beautiful. His eyelashes are fluttering against his cheeks and he’s shaking with the effort of keeping still, no doubt to avoid thrusting into Dean’s mouth. He catches Dean watching and offers him a wry smile, fingers stroking through Dean’s hair gently. Dean hums around his length and twists his wrist on the upstroke, earning another low groan from Castiel. 

“Dean, I-I’m close,” he stutters out with a gasp, hips rocking up just a fraction. Dean only doubles his efforts, fascinated as he watches nearly all of Cas’s muscles tense in anticipation, thighs shaking as he spills onto Dean’s tongue. His grip on Dean’s hair is so tight that Dean’s eyes are prickling with tears, but he can’t bring himself to care. He works Cas through his orgasm, pulling off with a soft pop and grinning up at Cas, who laughs breathlessly. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Dean shrugs, leaning back on his heels. “You’re hot.” 

He catches a hint of a smirk and a twinkle of mischievousness in Cas’s eyes, and then he’s on his back, Cas crawling between his legs with a predatory grin. He wastes no time swallowing Dean down to the root, hands gripping onto Dean’s thighs. Dean gasps and tangles a hand in Cas’s dark, unruly hair, intent on mussing it even more. 

Dean doesn’t last very long, but he can’t find it in himself to be embarrassed. He’s so turned on by Cas just being there that it only takes a few minutes before Dean’s moaning something that resembles Castiel’s name and spilling in his mouth. 

Cas lays next to Dean, idly resting a hand on his own chest as they both catch their breath. 

“I need you to punch me,” Cas says after a few minutes, shifting to look at Dean. 

Dean blinks at him. “You… what?” 

Castiel laughs, grabbing Dean’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and kissing him gently. “I need you to punch me. They won’t believe I escaped unscathed, I would’ve had to put up a fight, so I need you to punch me.” 

Dean frowns. “Couldn’t you just say you snuck out at night?” 

Castiel smiles, shaking his head. “We’ve stayed in more than one motel, if I could’ve snuck out at any time, why wait until now?”

It’s a good point, and it’d make them more likely to believe Cas’s story. Sighing, Dean concedes. “Alright. Where?” 

“Two places. A black eye and a split lip. It needs to look like a real fight.”

Dean frowns. “You’re sure?”

Castiel chuckles. “I’m positive, Dean. I’ve had to undergo much worse, believe me.” He leans over and plants a firm kiss on Dean’s lips, nodding as he sits up. “Let’s do this. I should get going.”

They dress in near silence, Dean fussing with his clothes a bit more than necessary before Cas grabs his chin and tilts his head up. 

“It’s a means to an end, Dean. Once we’re finished with this, we can pick up where we left off, yes?”

Dean smiles softly. “If that’s what you want, absolutely.”

One black eye and bloody lip later, Castiel lets himself out of the motel room, heading off in the direction of the blacksite. He doesn’t look back, no matter how much Dean wants him to. He can’t. Until they break John out, this is the life they don’t get to have. 

* * *

Castiel reaches the compound just as the moon hits the center of the sky. The guard at the door scrutinizes him for a moment and asks for identification, though halfway through his question he seems to figure out just who Castiel is. Cas is quickly shoved against the side of the guardhouse, no attention paid to his injured face as a zip tie is fastened around his wrists. He bites back the wince of pain, allowing himself to be dragged into the compound. 

It’s a relief how easily he’s allowed inside. Under any other circumstance, he would’ve been forced to wait in the guardhouse until one of the people in charge of the blacksite could come talk to him. The fact that he’s being let in so soon, and dragged straight to the general’s office if he knows the layout of the site correctly, is either an incredibly good thing or a death-inducing bad thing. He chooses to believe it’s the former. 

He’s shoved into a chair opposite the general’s desk and left there alone to wait. He knows how to get out of zip ties, it was one of the first things he learned at boot camp, but he knows better. If General Heyerdahl finds him alone in his office with nothing restraining him, it’ll blow his cover immediately. Sighing, he gets as comfortable as he can with his hands behind his back, head bowed and eyes closed as he waits. 

“Ah, Novak. I was wondering where you’d gotten to.” General Heyerdahl frowns at him, tilting Cas’s head up. “What happened to your face, boy?”

“Dean Winchester happened,” Cas scowls, wincing as the motion pulls at the split in his lip. “He’s nearby, in some motel with his brother.”

The general raises an eyebrow, pulling Cas forward and cutting the zip tie, freeing his hands. “Do you know where?” 

Cas rubs his wrists, nodding. “The Econo Lodge, about two miles from here. I’m not sure about the room numbers, I got out of there as quickly as I could.”

The general hums, sitting behind his desk. “I hope he looks twice as bad as you do, kid.”

“Three times as bad, I’d say,” Castiel replies with a smirk. “I never saw their father,” Cas frowns, dipping his head in a show of respect. “I apologize for not completing my mission, General.” 

General Heyerdahl waves him off, crossing his arms in front of him on the desk. “Don’t concern yourself with it, we’ve got John Winchester. We won’t need his little experiments unless he refuses to give up the information.” The general flashes him a feral grin, shrugging. “You and I both know I have ways to make him talk, though.”

“You have John Winchester?” Castiel gapes, sitting up straighter in his chair. 

“I do. Perhaps you could assist me? We’ve developed a new truth serum, and you’re the most qualified person here to use it.”

“You want me to help? I’d be honored, of course, but I don’t need evaluations first?”

General Heyerdahl laughs, shaking his head. “I knew you didn’t choose to leave, Castiel. You’re one of the most gifted soldiers we have in this division, I never even removed your credentials.”

Castiel nods slowly, pushing himself to his feet. “Let me clean my face off and then I’ll join you.”

The general waves toward the bathroom attached to his office, smiling. “Of course, Novak. I’ll get your badge in the meantime.”

Castiel murmurs his thanks, heading for the bathroom. He wastes no time cleaning his face off, he’s been walking around with a bloody face for too long as far as he’s concerned. By the time he returns to the general’s office, he’s handed his badge and promptly led to one of the interrogation rooms deep within the compound. There’s two armed guards outside the door and a peek through the one-way mirror shows a man slumped over in his chair with his hands tied behind his back. His face is more purple and yellow than normal skin color and so swollen that if Cas didn’t already know who he was looking at, he wouldn’t recognize him. 

“Doesn’t quite live up to your expectations, huh?” General Heyerdahl says, motioning toward the scanner by the door. This one is just a simple badge reader, so Cas swipes his badge and barely holds back his relieved breath when it unlocks the door. The general leads the way inside, hands behind his back and a smirk on his face. “How’re we doing in here, Winchester? Face still hurt?” 

John barely registers their presence. His eyes flick to the pair of them for a moment before returning to the floor. 

“Not in a chatty mood tonight, I see. This is Staff Sergeant Castiel Novak. He’s gonna be giving me a hand tonight. We’ve got something special to try out, and we’ll see if we can’t get the truth from you after all.” 

General Heyerdahl grabs a syringe and a glass bottle off a nearby table, holding them out to Castiel. 

“Our latest prototype. It has promising results, and we’ve been looking for someone else to test it on. It needs to be injected into a vein in the neck.” 

Castiel nods, grabbing a pair of gloves and tugging them on. “How much?” 

“10 cc is what’s been working so far. We can start with that and work our way up if we need to.” 

Carefully, Castiel inserts the syringe into the bottle, drawing the appropriate amount of liquid up and tapping out a few air bubbles. General Heyerdahl steps to the back of the room, causing Castiel’s mouth to curve up in a hint of a smile. For being a military general overseeing biological experiments, Heyerdahl is deathly afraid of needles. 

Cas wipes the side of John’s neck with an alcohol wipe, keeping his voice low enough that only John will be able to hear. “Sam and Dean are nearby. We can get you out of here, but I need to maintain my cover. I’m just going to inject this into the muscle of your neck. Your bloodstream won’t absorb it and it won’t affect you.” Carefully, he injects the serum into the muscle tissue of John’s neck, setting the syringe aside and wiping away the spot of blood. “Finished, sir.” 

“Thank you, Castiel,” John murmurs, subtly nodding once in Cas’s direction. 

“Excellent!” General Heyerdahl claps his hands in front of himself, a grin on his face. “We’ll give it a minute to kick in and then we’ll resume our interrogation.”

Castiel retreats to the outskirts of the room. General Heyerdahl doesn’t comment, though Castiel can’t imagine he’s surprised. Every time Cas has attended an interrogation, it was strictly as a medical professional, he’s never actually participated in said interrogation. 

“So,” the general starts, circling John’s chair like a piranha, “feel like telling us where you hid the files and software, or should we pick up where we left off a couple of hours ago?”

John looks up at the general, one eye entirely swollen shut, and spits in his face. “Go to hell, you sadistic fuck.” 

General Heyerdahl grins, this one more feral than the last and Castiel takes his cue to exit the room. He can listen through an intercom outside, and while he’s powerless to help John, he’s not going to stand there and watch him be tortured either. He’s sure John won’t give anything up, but he only needs to hold on until Castiel can sneak out tomorrow night and meet up with Sam and Dean. Just twenty-four hours.

* * *

Dean paces the room of the motel they’d agreed to meet in. Sam and Charlie are watching him disinterestedly, eyes mostly locked on Charlie’s computer. She’s got security footage of the blacksite and the two of them have been watching it for hours, taking turns scrutinizing it for any sign of Castiel. So far, there hasn’t been any. He’s been in there for over a day now, and Dean can’t help but think the worst. What if they didn’t believe Cas? What if they caught him trying to sneak off the property to meet up with Sam and Dean? Or worse, what if Castiel really had been double-crossing them this entire time? 

Shaking his head, Dean drags a chair out from the tiny table and sits opposite Sam and Charlie. “One of you give me some good news, please. My head is spinning.”

Sam chuckles, sliding a mug of coffee across the table. “Relax, man. He’s only been there a day, we agreed to give him a week.”

Dean frowns, sipping at his coffee. It’s disgusting motel coffee, but none of them felt safe enough to leave the motel once they’d gotten there, especially not just for coffee. “That doesn’t make me any less anxious, Sammy. Charlie? You got anything?”

After a moment of silence from her, he sighs and turns to look out the window. It’s dark now, probably nearing midnight. There’s no activity in the parking lot of the small motel, which only makes Dean nervous. Everything around them is so quiet, but he can’t seem to quiet his brain down. 

“There! He must’ve snuck out an exit with no cameras, look! I checked a few streets over.” Charlie spins the laptop around, pointing to a person on the security feed. It’s nothing more than a head of messy hair, and the security camera is incredibly terrible resolution, but he knows in the pit of his stomach that it’s Castiel. He breathes a sigh of relief, dragging the laptop closer. 

“This is live?”

Charlie smiles. “Of course, do you think I would’ve shown it to you if it wasn’t? That’s a five minute walk from here, he’ll be here soon.”

Dean nods, relaxing and drinking his coffee while he waits. 

He’s not waiting long. There’s a knock on their door less than three minutes later. Sam checks the peephole just to make sure, but he pulls the door open a minute later and lets Castiel inside.

“Are you ready to go? We won’t have long, and we’ll need to get the hell out of here as soon as we have him. Is there somewhere safe we can go?”

Sam and Dean exchange a look, the latter nodding. “Our Uncle Bobby’s. It won’t be safe for long but we can regroup there and figure out our next steps.”

Castiel nods slowly. “Risky, but it’s the only chance we have. Shall we?”

The three of them nod, packing up their few belongings and tossing them in the back of the car. They agree on Charlie staying in the car so she can drive as soon as the other four of them are in the car. Castiel takes the front seat to direct Charlie to a spot near the compound while Dean and Sam pile into the back. 

It’s a silent and anxious ride. Dean’s thrilled to see Castiel again, and in one piece, but this is dangerous. They’re breaking into a military blacksite, there’s a chance they don’t all make it out of this. 

Dean is quick to push that thought from his mind when Cas has Charlie pull over. He takes a deep breath and refocuses. He was literally genetically engineered for this exact purpose, being a soldier, so he supposes this is as good a time as any to put his skills to use. The three of them climb out of the car, Sam and Dean following Castiel onto the compound. He leads them in through an inconspicuous side door that’s unmarked and unguarded, then through the winding hallways of the compound. Within a few minutes they’re standing outside an interrogation room, staring at their brutally beaten father. Castiel glances at them, pulling out a badge. “We’ll have three minutes to get out of here once I unlock this. Get ready to run.”

Dean and Sam nod their understanding and Dean can feel the wash of adrenaline as every muscle in his body tenses. Cas swipes his card and yanks the door open, sliding inside and cutting off the zip ties around John Winchester’s wrists. Sam and Dean haul him to his feet and, between the two of them, carry him out into the hallway. He can walk pretty well on his own, though he’s still leaning on Sam and Dean a little bit. Castiel brings up the rear, quietly pointing them in the correct direction when necessary. 

They’re mere feet from the door when Dean freezes, dragging Sam to a stop and making Castiel walk into them.    
  
“Footsteps nearby,” Dean murmurs, raising his eyebrows when Castiel pulls out a gun and offers it to Dean. Dean lets go of John and nods at Sam as he takes the gun, clicking the safety off. “Get Dad to the car, Cas and I will meet you.” 

Sam nods and the two of them set off in the direction of the car. Castiel produces another gun for himself, pointing it in the direction Dean nods toward. They find cover for themselves and Dean closes his eyes to focus on listening.

“Two, maybe three,” Dean murmurs, head tilted toward the footsteps. “Guns, I can hear the metal. One’s coming straight for you, I can get the other two.” Dean opens his eyes to find Cas smirking at him and he nods once, gun at the ready. 

As soon as the three soldiers turn the corner, Dean and Cas poke their heads out and take them down easily, Cas killing the one closest to him while Dean gets the two flanking that one. They send each other relieved smiles and head for the door they came in.

Dean should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. Just before they reach the door, Castiel’s yanked away from his side. Dean spins on the spot and aims his gun point-blank at the guy’s forehead, but he’s got a giant knife to Cas’s throat and a disturbing grin on his face.    
  
“Led them right to us, Novak, I appreciate it. You must be Dean. It’s good to finally meet you, boy.”

“Let him go or I’ll pull the trigger,” Dean snarls, finger already squeezing the trigger. The soldier just smirks at him.

“Think you can pull the trigger faster than I can slit his throat?” The guy grabs Cas’s chin, holding him still. “What do you think, Castiel? Good odds of you making it out of this little exchange alive?”

“No, General Heyerdahl,” Cas grits out, eyes locked on Dean. He doesn’t say anything out loud, but his eyes are screaming at Dean to leave, to leave him behind and get out. He can’t do that, so he pulls the gun away from the general’s head and clicks the safety on. 

“Fine. Let him go.” 

Before the general gets a chance, a shot rings out from behind them. Dean immediately assesses himself for anything that hurts, but comes up with nothing. He hears a startled yelp from Castiel, but he looks unharmed as well. General Heyerdahl is leaning against the nearby wall, hand pressed to what must be a bleeding gunshot to his shoulder. Dean makes for Castiel but before he can get there, the general grabs the back of Castiel’s shirt and throws him to the ground, his heavy military boot placed directly over Cas’s throat.

“Cas!” Dean starts for the general, his intention to throw him backwards and away from Castiel, but a pair of arms wrap around Dean and yank him back. 

“Dean! Dean, we need to go. Castiel can hold his own. We need to get out of here. If we don’t leave now, they’ll capture us all,” Sam says into his ear, tugging Dean backwards, away from Castiel and toward the door. Dean claws at Sam’s arms, trying to get them off so he can get to Cas, but it’s no use. Dean can just barely make out Castiel nodding once at him, as if to say  _ it’s okay, go _ . 

“Let go of me, get off!  _ Cas _ !” Dean struggles against his brother’s ironclad grip, desperately trying to get back to Castiel.

It’s no use. Sam drags him out of the compound, pushing him in the direction of the car. He stays a half-step behind Dean the entire time, no doubt to make sure Dean doesn’t turn around. He climbs in the back seat of the car and Charlie shoots him a worried glance in the rearview.

“Where’s Castiel?”

“Drive, Charlie,” Sam orders, slamming his door as he climbs in. Charlie’s eyes flicker to Dean before she ultimately puts the car into drive and speeds away from the compound. 


	4. Chapter 4

Dean’s deathly silent the entire ride to Ellen and Bobby’s, and Charlie’s kinda terrified. He doesn’t so much as look at Sam, just glares out the window into the darkness. He could probably burn a hole right through the glass if he tried hard enough.  As much as she wants to ask for an explanation, she doesn’t need her head bitten off in response.

They drive for the rest of the night and most of the next day, getting to Bobby and Ellen’s house shortly before noon. Dean doesn’t spare anyone in the car a second glance, simply slides out the back seat and slams the door behind him, disappearing into the house. Sam and Charlie help John inside, with Sam giving Bobby and Ellen a rushed explanation of what’s going on. They direct Sam and John upstairs, where John can get patched up and rest in the guest bedroom. Charlie leaves them to it and instead searches the house for Dean. 

She finds him in what must be an office, every surface covered in textbooks and dusty tomes. There’s a small wooden desk centered in the room and Dean’s perched on a chair in front of it, angrily typing away at the laptop on the desk. Charlie approaches him cautiously, but if he notices her, he doesn't say anything. She stays behind his back, peeking over his shoulder to see what he’s looking for. 

“You’re trying to hack the internal security feeds of the blacksite?” she finally gets out, aghast. 

Dean’s eyes flick to her before returning to the screen. “Cas is trapped in there. There’s no way I’m leaving him there with that psycho, not after everything he did to help us. You gonna stand there and watch or help me?”

Charlie frowns but motions for him to get up, taking his seat and getting to work. “So what happened?”

Dean sighs, crossing his arms. “We were almost out but I heard footsteps behind us. Sam was supposed to go to the car with John while Cas and I hung back and took care of whoever was following us, but while we were dealing with the soldiers, this general showed up and grabbed Cas. I could’ve gotten him if I’d had more time, but Sam showed up and shot the dude and then yanked me away before I could get Cas,” he mutters angrily, pacing in the small space behind the desk. “I could’ve gotten him out if Sam had just let me go, we would’ve been fine. Please, Charlie, I have to get him out,” Dean begs and when Charlie turns to look at him, he’s so much more serious than she’d expected. 

“You… really care about him, don’t you?” 

Dean frowns and Charlie can tell he’s trying to play it off, but he’s admitted too much already. Sighing, he nods once. “We slept together before he left, and I… I think I’d already kinda been falling for him, and then he offered to do  _ this _ for us and I just… I need to get him back, Charlie.” Neither of them comments on the break in his voice, but it’s not really necessary. They both know what it means. Determined, Charlie turns back to the laptop and focuses on getting into the security feed inside the blacksite. It’s not easy, but by the time Sam and John make their way back downstairs, she’s finally managed it, turning the screen a bit so Dean can see it clearly. 

“What are you two doing?” John asked gruffly, limping toward the couch on the other side of the room. 

“Security footage,” Dean mutters distractedly, bending down next to Charlie to flip through the insane number of security cameras, eyes scanning each image for Castiel. 

“There’s nothing left to examine, Dean. The four of us need to disappear, and quickly, probably somewhere that doesn’t have extradition with the United States government.”

Dean’s head snaps up at that, his narrowed eyes focusing on John. “Then disappear. That’s all you’ve been doing my entire life anyway. I didn’t really expect any help after we’d saved your sorry ass.”

John pushes himself to his feet, hands in fists at his side. “You have no right to speak to me like that, Dean Winchester.”

Dean scoffs, crossing the room in three steps and shoving John roughly, causing the man to stumble back a few steps and plop back onto the couch. Dean couldn’t care less, there’s nothing but pure rage circulating through his bloodstream. “If we hadn’t had to rescue your stupid ass, Cas would be _fine_! This is your fault, you’re the psycho that cloned your dead kids,” he grits out, hands clenched at his sides to keep from punching John in the face. “You’re gonna fix this. You’re gonna get him back, and you’re not going to give them the files under any circumstances.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the  _ hell _ is going on in here?” Ellen shouts, pushing herself between Dean and John, pushing Dean back a few steps with a gentle hand to his chest. “Everyone just take a breath, now, there’s no need for that.”

“Tell that to him,” Dean spits out, stalking back over to the desk and continuing to scroll through the footage. 

Ellen glances between them, shaking her head. “Someone want to explain to me why we’re all in a frenzy, here?” 

John rolls his eyes. “Dean couldn’t protect his boyfriend and he somehow thinks that’s my fault.”

Dean’s entire body jolts at that, so Charlie quickly rests a hand on his shoulder and shakes her head. She can see exactly what’s going through Dean’s mind, and it’s not good. “Just keep looking, we’ll get him out on our own if we have to,” she murmurs just loudly enough for Dean to hear. 

Ellen glares in John’s direction before turning to Dean and Charlie. “You two need help with anything?” 

Dean gives her a tight smile and shakes his head. “We’re okay for now, Ellen. Thank you though.”

“Why’d you rescue me if you hate me so much?”

Dean rolls his eyes. “Because you’re the one with all the answers, and I need to make sure what you discovered doesn’t get into anyone else’s hands.”

John scoffs. “You want to  _ destroy _ it? What I created is the greatest scientific discovery of the millennium!” 

Dean glares at him. “And what do you think people would do with it if it fell into the wrong hands? It would be catastrophic. I know you obviously have no regard for human life, but I’m not going to let you destroy the world just for your ego.” He shakes his head, turning back to the laptop and nudging Charlie, pointing out a barely visible mop of black hair at the bottom of one of the cameras. “This might be him. Can we move the camera?”

Charlie nods, typing a few things in. The camera shifts down a couple inches, but it’s more than enough to tell that it’s definitely Castiel. “Same interrogation room they were keeping John in,” Charlie murmurs, frowning. “Why would they keep him in the same room you’ve already broken into?”

Dean shrugs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Cas got us in with his badge. Without that we can’t get to him, we can’t even get in the building.”

Sam sighs heavily. “Dean, you’re not honestly thinking of going back for him, are you?”

“Oh, come on, not you too! Cas did a lot for us, the least we can do is bring him with us when we disappear.” 

“You just said it yourself, we can’t even get in the building! We’re better off just destroying Dad’s research and getting the hell out of dodge.” 

“Go for it,” Dean mutters, tapping his fingers against the wooden desk as he flips through every plan he can think of. There’s no way to get Cas out without access to the blacksite, and they’re not just gonna let Dean waltz inside. 

“You’re coming with us,” Sam insists, crossing his arms. “Castiel chose to help us, he knew it was risky. It’s not our responsibility to rescue him. He’s not some damsel in distress.”

“I get it, Sam, you don’t care. That’s fine, but I do, and I’m not leaving him there to rot. So you take off with John and Charlie and I’ll meet up with you if I make it out with Cas.”

Sam opens his mouth to argue but the landline rings. Ellen shuffles off to answer it with a shake of her head, grumbling something unintelligible under her breath.

“Dean? It’s for you,” Ellen shouts down the hallway, though the tone of her voice has Dean springing from his seat to get to her. “General Heyerdahl asked for you, specifically. He wants to negotiate,” she explains with a frown. “Be careful,” she murmurs as she walks away, patting Dean on the shoulder. 

General Heyerdahl calling can only mean two things: Castiel is dead and the military is closing in on them, or Castiel is alive and the general wants to make a deal. Sighing, he grabs the phone off the table and brings it to his ear. “Hello?

  
“Dean Winchester, hello again. I apologize that our conversation was cut short with that nasty business. I had a feeling that we were going to get somewhere. You seem like a much more reasonable man than your brother.”

Dean resists the urge to rolls his eyes, leaning against the wall near the phone. “What do you want?”

“You know very well what I want, Dean. I want you and your brother to join me. But if I can’t have that, I’d settle for your father’s research.”

“Right, and you’ll give me Castiel in return?”

He can almost picture the general’s sleazy smirk. “Smart boy. Yes, I’ll return Castiel to you if you give me your research and make sure you and Sam are left alone. Sound like a deal?”

Dean rubs his eyes with his thumb and forefingers, sighing. “Prove he’s alive and it’s a deal.”

There’s some shuffling on the other end and he can just make out Heyerdahl muttering something before there’s a soft and tired, “Dean?”

“Cas,” Dean breathes, clutching the phone tightly. “You’re okay?”

“Don’t do it, Dean, please, just leave me—” There’s the distinct sound of someone being punched and Dean winces in sympathy. 

“Where do you want to meet?”

“Right here is fine. I know you travelled quite some distance to get away from us, so I’ll give you twenty-four hours to get back here with the research or your little soldier here is finished. See you soon, Dean.”

The line clicks and Dean stands there for a minute, trying to process what just happened while also coming up with a plan for how the hell they’re going to get out of this. There’s no way he can just hand over John’s research, but he can’t leave Cas there, either. Sighing, he hangs the phone up and heads back to the office. 

“You’re not doing it,” John says the minute he walks in, eyebrow raised as if he’s begging for Dean to disagree. It’s his lucky day.

“I’m not asking your permission. You’re going to give me your research and then I don’t ever want to see your face again. I don’t care where you go or who you go with, or even if you actually make it out of the country alive. I’m gonna get Cas out and then we’ll figure out how to get the hell out of dodge.”

“Dean,” Sam says softly, running a hand through his own hair. “You must see how idiotic this is. You want to trade Dad’s research for a guy we’ve known for a week? They can’t have access to this kind of genetic manipulation, Dean, you  _ know  _ that. It’d be a disaster.”

“They’re not going to get it,” Dean replies with a smirk, raising an eyebrow at Charlie. “Charlie can imbed a kill switch into the files so that the minute they’re copied or downloaded, everything’s completely wiped. No one gets their hands on the research and Cas and I are long gone by the time they figure it out.”

John snorts. “Right, as if she can do that.”

Charlie stares at him, indignant. “It’s what I’m famous for, actually. I’ve already got the code for it, I’ll just need to tailor it to the files.”

Sam glances between her and Dean, eyebrows pinched in confusion.

“Charlie’s a white hat hacker. Companies hire her to write kill switches into their data so if anyone ever steals it, they can never do anything with it.” He turns to John, crossing his arms over his chest. “Where are the files?”

John glances between Sam and Dean, scoffing. “I’m not giving them to you.”

“They’re hidden in the fireplace. Loose brick on the left side,” Bobby says, pointing them toward the correct brick. Sure enough, three flash drives are wedged underneath a loose stone. “Anything that was printed was shredded and then incinerated. Those are the only copies left. Get your boy back and then get the hell outta here, boys,” Bobby says with a nod, smiling at Charlie as she takes the flash drives. 

“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, you ungrateful sap,” John spits, reaching out for Bobby. He misses by nearly a mile and Bobby just glares at him.

“Everything my family did for you, and all you care about is your research. You’re a disgrace,” Bobby says with a shake of his head, turning back to Dean. “If you need anything else, let me know, I can probably find it.”

“You, Ellen, and Jo should come with us,” Dean murmurs with a frown. “There’ll be nothing stopping them from retaliating against you three once we’re through with this. I might have a way out of here, let me make a few calls. In the meantime, maybe tell Ellen and Jo to pack the important stuff.”

Bobby nods, squeezing Dean’s shoulder as he makes his way deeper into the house. 

“You might have a way out?” Sam questions, leaning against the wall near Charlie.

Nodding, Dean grabs his phone and pulls up his contacts, grabbing one of the wireless landline phones. “I have a friend at my office with a private jet and he owes me a favor. Not sure if he’ll accept this as my cash-in, but I guess we’ll find out.” 

“You have a guy in your office with a private plane?” Sam gapes. Dean smiles and shrugs, stepping into the hallway. He pulls the number off his cell phone, dialing it and tucking his cell back in his pocket as he waits for Cain to pick up. 

“Hello?” 

Dean sighs, relieved, and smiles. “Cain, hi, it’s Dean.”

“Dean! I was wondering where you’d gotten off to. We were worried when you didn’t show up for work.”

Dean runs a hand through his hair, chuckling. “Yeah, it’s been a crazy few days. Listen, I have a huge favor to ask of you and I’d completely understand if you said no.” 

“I owe you one, Dean, you know that. Tell me what it is and I’ll make it happen.” 

Dean quickly explains the situation, mentioning that his family’s in trouble and they need to get out of the country as quickly as possible. To Cain’s credit, he doesn’t ask what’s going on, just immediately offers the use of his jet and his private pilot. 

“Just tell me where you’re looking to go and I’ll make sure everything’s ready,” Cain adds, and that knocks the wind out of Dean. He hadn’t thought of that. Where  _ would  _ they go? They need somewhere that doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States. He ducks back into the office, borrowing Sam’s laptop to research. One place catches his eye.

“The Maldives. Malé, maybe?”

He can hear the scratch of a pen against paper, and then Cain speaks, “When do you want it ready by?” 

He does some quick math in his head, rubbing his chin absentmindedly as he thinks. “One thirty tomorrow? We can probably be in Lebanon by then.” 

“Alright, I’ll have it ready to go by one thirty, then. I’m assuming you don’t want your names on the flight manifest?”

“Can you leave them off?”

“Of course. How many of you?”

“Eight.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line for a moment, which only makes Dean panic. What if Cain can’t fit eight people on his plane? He can’t just leave Bobby and his family behind, not after what they just did. Bobby and Ellen have been better parents to him and Sam than John’s ever been, he can’t abandon them to the wolves. “Okay, I’ll give my pilot a call and make sure it’s ready. If I need to, I can reach you at this number?”

“I have a few things I need to do, but my brother will be here and he knows what’s going on, if you need anything.” 

“Alright, then I’ll see you tomorrow. Be careful, Dean.” 

Dean thanks him quietly, hanging up the phone with a relieved sigh. “We’ve got a plane out of the country tomorrow at one thirty, heading for the Maldives.” Everyone gives him a funny look, so he shrugs and explains, “No extradition. We’ll be out of their hands there.”

Everyone nods at that and Charlie waves him over to the computer. “It’s all set. The minute they try to move, copy, or take screenshots of any of the files, they’ll self-destruct and wipe away any trace of the research.” 

Dean nods, taking the flash drives from her and slipping them in his pocket. “Alright. We should try to empty our bank accounts, if they’re not frozen. I’m gonna grab some dinner and then head for Pueblo. You guys can meet me in Lebanon, yeah?”

Sam and Bobby both nod at him, the latter crossing his arms. “I’ll make sure we’re there on time. I’ll bring my cell phone and turn it on once we’re at the plane, call me if somethin’ changes.”

“Don’t wait for us if we’re not there by one. Promise me. You guys need to get out of here safely, even if I don’t,” Dean implores, staring at each member of his family until they agree.

Nodding, Dean lets out a nervous breath and grabs his jacket. He empties his bank account and leaves the cash with Charlie, grabbing a quick dinner before borrowing one of Bobby’s cars and heading for Pueblo. 

* * *

It’s unnerving standing in the shadow of a military blacksite in the pitch-black of early morning. The blacksite is well-lit and surrounded by barbed-wire fence, nothing but a small opening for cars right in front. Dean drives up to it and stops at the guard shack, handing over his ID. 

“General Heyerdahl is expecting me,” Dean murmurs, glancing out at the building looming ahead. It was creepy last time he was here, but staring straight at it is worse. He can only imagine the horrors that go on in there without anyone knowing. 

The guard hands his ID back and waves him through the gate. He parks near what must be the main entrance of the compound, tucking the keys in his pocket and heading for the door, double-checking that the flash drives are still in his pocket. 

He doesn’t even get to knock on the door before it swings open and a guard motions him inside. He’s quickly led through the building with two guards on either side of him, each one heavily armed. 

He’s left alone in a big, wooden office stacked with files and books. The guards close the door behind him and he hears the lock click, so he drops into the armchair opposite the desk and waits. He’s not kept waiting long, to his surprise. The door swings open not five minutes after he’s left there and General Heyerdahl steps inside, dragging Castiel behind him. Another man steps in behind them, dressed in scrubs and a white lab coat. 

Castiel looks good, surprisingly. He’s still got the bruise and split lip Dean gave him, but no other visible injuries. He just looks annoyed, and rightfully so. 

“What the  _ hell _ are you doing here? I told you to leave me,” Cas hisses, eyes narrowed in Dean’s direction. 

Dean rolls his eyes. “Like you really thought I was gonna leave you.” He stands, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at Heyerdahl. “Shall we?”

General Heyerdahl smirks, taking a seat behind his desk. “Sure. Hand over the research and you can have your defective soldier back.” 

Dean nods, pulling all three flash drives from his pocket and setting them on the desk. “Those are the only copies of the research. Anything that was ever printed was shredded and then incinerated, and the electronic files were never copied.”

Heyerdahl waves the man in the lab coat over, handing the flash drives to him and vacating the seat behind the desk. “Go on, Crowley, make sure they’re not lying to us before they leave.” 

Crowley smirks, taking the chair and flipping the laptop on the desk open. He inserts the first flash drive and Dean can hear him clicking around for a few minutes before switching to the next flash drive. He repeats the same actions for the second and third flash drives. 

After a while, Crowley nods. “Everything’s here, all the procedures and research, including the stuff that didn’t work. None of the files I looked at were copied or edited. Seems like he kept his word.” 

Heyerdahl nods, raising an eyebrow in Dean and Cas’s direction. “Then I’ll keep mine. You’re both free to go, and I’ll ensure you and your brother are left alone.” 

Dean nods, grabbing Cas’s arm and basically dragging him from the room, keeping his face as somber and unemotional as he can. 

“You shouldn’t have done that, Dean. You don’t owe me anything.” 

Dean rolls his eyes, falling into step beside Castiel. “I didn’t do it because I felt like I owed you anything, man. I did it cause I like you.” 

Castiel raises his eyebrows, stopping in his tracks. “You  _ like _ me?” 

Dean glances back at him, a hint of a blush on his cheeks. “Yeah, okay? I like you. Can we have this discussion in the car?”

Castiel acquiesces, sweeping his arm in front of him, motioning for Dean to lead the way. They head straight for the car and they don’t say another word for the next ten miles, until Dean pulls over at a gas station and gets out of the car. He calls Bobby on the payphone to tell him that he and Cas got out and they’re on their way, and then motions for Cas to get out of the car. Cas quirks a brow at him but steps out, following Dean to the bathroom. 

“Take your clothes off,” Dean says with a slight smirk, locking the door to the men’s room. 

Castiel snorts. “Here, seriously?”

Dean chuckles. “I just need to make sure they didn’t bug you on the way out. Although if you’re offering something, I’m definitely not opposed.” He sheds his own jacket and shirt, shaking them out and checking the pockets. Castiel does the same, the two of them slowly and methodically checking their clothes for bugs. They don’t find any, so  Dean starts to tug his jeans back on until Castiel catches his wrist. 

“I’m offering,” Cas murmurs, backing Dean up until his back is pressed against the sink. It’s uncomfortable and Dean doesn’t even want to  _ begin _ thinking about all the nasty stuff that’s happened in this bathroom, but then Castiel’s mouth is on his and all higher brain function stops anyway. Dean’s body responds of its own accord, hands gripping Castiel’s arms and hauling the soldier against him, groaning softly when he realizes Castiel’s already half hard. 

“Are we really doing this?” Dean asks, breathless as he meets Castiel’s gaze. 

Instead of answering, Castiel smirks and shoves the front of Dean’s boxers down, wrapping a hand around Dean’s cock. He gives it a few quick tugs before pulling his hand away and licking his own palm. “I’d offer you more, but I’m afraid that’ll have to wait until we get somewhere safe. Once again, no lube,” he explains, sliding his own boxers down and lining their erections up. 

This time is far more rushed and desperate than their first time. Castiel’s mouth is everywhere—nipping at Dean’s lips, trailing hot, wet kisses across Dean’s jaw, licking up the side of Dean’s neck and biting his earlobe gently. Dean’s overwhelmed in the best way, frantic pleas and moans tumbling from his lips as Castiel strokes both their cocks, pushing them higher and higher until they’re just panting into the minuscule space between them, desperately chasing their orgasms.

Castiel comes first, though Dean’s not very far behind. They spend the next several minutes making out like horny teenagers before Castiel forces himself away and haphazardly cleans them up with paper towels. They dress in giddy silence, barely able to keep their hands off each other as they head back to the car.

“You didn’t really give them the research, right?” Castiel asks, frowning as he climbs into the car. 

“No,” Dean answers with a smile, glancing over at him. “Charlie wrote a kill switch into it. As soon as they download or copy the files, they’ll be erased.”

“And those are really the only copies?”

Nodding, Dean fiddles with the radio. “As far as we know, yeah. John isn’t exactly forthcoming with information.”

Castiel hums, turning to look out the window. “Where are we going?”

“Lebanon. I have a friend with a private jet who’s taking us to the Maldives.” He chuckles at the look of bemusement on Cas’s face. “No extradition treaty. They’d have to come get us.”

Cas nods his understanding, smirking at Dean. “So you  _ like _ me, hm?”

Dean scoffs, eyes flicking to Castiel quickly before returning to the road. “I’m never going to live that down, am I? 

Castiel grins, shaking his head. “Never. But for the record, I like you too.”

The ride to Lebanon is quiet and remarkably uneventful after that. They get there around one and, much to Dean’s relief, everyone else is already there waiting for them. They don’t waste any time boarding the plane, and the pilot okays them to leave early. 

Just as they’re taking off, Charlie taps Dean’s shoulder and shows him her laptop with a grin. “They just triggered it. The files are officially wiped.”

Dean grins and, despite the fact that he’s on a plane, actually finds himself relaxing. Castiel slots their fingers together and shoots him a small, private smile and Dean think that maybe if he died in a fiery crash right now, it wouldn’t be so bad.


	5. Chapter 5

**August, 2150**

Sighing, Dean leans his head back against the chair and closes his eyes, thumb idly picking at the label of his beer bottle. The calm sound of the waves crashing onto the beach and the kids playing farther down lulls him into the space between awake and asleep, entirely content and warm from the afternoon sun shining down. He digs his toes deeper into the sand and cracks one eye open to take a swig of his beer, a pleased rumble in his chest. This is definitely not the life he’d pictured as a fugitive from the United States government, but he can’t complain. 

Charlie had set them up with all the tech they needed the minute they got there, including new cell phones and laptops. Castiel had found them a place to stay right on the beach that was actually affordable. Dean, Cas, Charlie, and Sam in one bungalow, with Bobby, Ellen, and Jo in the one next door. John had walked away the minute they’d landed and none of them had heard from him in the five years they’d been there, though Dean sure as hell wasn’t complaining about that. Truth be told, he didn’t really want to be anywhere near John anyway.

“You’re not sleeping, are you? Don’t you remember what happened last time you fell asleep on the beach?”

Dean’s eyes flick open beneath his sunglasses and he cocks an eyebrow at Castiel. “I’m not sleeping. Just resting. Enjoying this lovely afternoon on the beach.”

Castiel smiles softly, head tilted to one side and a huge, floppy beach hat perched on his head. Dean has sworn that he hates the thing on multiple occasions, but he secretly thinks Cas looks adorable with it. He’ll take that thought to the grave. “Mind if I join you?”

Dean grins. “Never. Bring a chair?”

“I did, and a replacement beer,” Castiel answers with a knowing smile, popping the cap off two beers and handing one to Dean. He settles into a beach chair beside Dean, lacing their fingers and pressing a light kiss to Dean’s knuckles.

A comfortable silence falls between them as they enjoy their beers and the warm afternoon on the beach. Dean idly thinks that maybe they’ll go for a swim later, but for now he’s content to gaze at the obvious relaxation on Cas’s face and the way the sun glints off his wedding band when Dean twists their hands just so. Castiel sighs happily and gives Dean a lazy, sated smile before turning his attention to the beach. 

“Daddy!” Claire squeals as she jumps onto Dean’s lap, soaking wet from running through the waves. He grimaces, letting go of Castiel’s hand to grab her so she doesn’t slide off his lap.

“Hey, bug. I see you got into the water.”

Claire grins, presenting him with a perfect spider conch shell. “Jack found it, isn’t it pretty?”

“Very pretty,” Dean agrees with a smile, showing the shell to Castiel. 

“Isn’t it pretty, Papa?” Claire shuffles off Dean’s lap and stands in front of Castiel, eyes wide as she watches him look at the shell. 

“It’s beautiful,” Castiel smiles, brushing his fingers through her hair. “It’ll look perfect up on the kitchen windowsill, don’t you think?”

Claire grins widely and nods as she rushes over to Jack, who’s stoically focused on building a sand castle. Claire stops just short of the castle, talking animatedly. Jack doesn’t seem to be listening, but once Claire stops talking, he fixes her with a proud smile, then seeks out Dean and Cas, who both smile and wave at him. 

Dean smiles to himself, settling back in his chair and watching their kids. Jack and Claire are two of the best things that have happened for Dean, and it had been in spite of everything he’d gone through because of John and the United States. He takes the opportunity to look over at his husband, who has a fond smile on his lips as he watches Claire and Jack play. Dean reaches across the space between them, threading their fingers together and giving Cas’s hand a gentle squeeze. 

“This isn’t what you pictured happening when I showed up on your doorstep, was it?” Castiel asks with a knowing smile, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of Dean’s hand. 

Chuckling, Dean shakes his head and turns his attention back to Claire and Jack. “No, definitely not.”

“Sounded like there was a ‘but’ coming.”

Dean smiles. After the past five years, Castiel knows him better than anyone else on the planet. “I wouldn’t change anything. It led me here, and I love where I am right now.” 

Castiel smiles, bringing their joined hands to his lips to leave a gentle kiss on the back of Dean’s hand. “I’m relieved, I rather enjoy where we are as well.” 

Five years ago, that admission would’ve terrified Dean. He couldn’t imagine living anywhere outside of the United States, much less being married with two kids. A lot has changed in five years, though.

At first, everything had been incredibly tense. Dean snapped at anyone who so much as looked at him wrong. He felt horribly guilty about uprooting Bobby, Ellen, Jo, and Charlie’s lives and wouldn’t accept their assurances that they didn’t mind. Charlie had quickly found several jobs in the Maldives, and even a few for the government there. Turns out having a talented white hat hacker working for the government was considered an asset, as far as the leaders of the Maldives were concerned. 

Within a year, Ellen had opened up a bar right in the main town nearby and it was thriving. Bobby took care of the financial side of things while Ellen handled the day-to-day management, and Jo even helped out sometimes. She and Charlie started dating not long after the opening of Ellen’s bar and married three years later, just a year and a half after Dean and Cas got married. They’d expanded down the beach, with Charlie and Jo buying the bungalow to the left of Dean and Castiel’s, and Sam and his girlfriend Eileen buying the one to the left of Charlie and Jo’s. 

Three days after Dean and Castiel’s wedding, Claire and Jack had been brought to their house in the middle of the night. They’d be approved to be foster parents a few months prior, though there were a distinct lack of kids that needed to be fostered. Claire and Jack had been on vacation with their parents when the accident happened. Both their parents had been killed but Jack and Claire had escaped unscathed. Dean and Cas were the closest foster parents, so the kids had been left with them while authorities searched for relatives. 

Two years later, the search is officially completed.  Dean and Castiel have finally been approved to fully adopt Claire and Jack, with the official papers coming through only a few days ago. The excitement is still thrumming through Dean’s body, and he can tell Castiel’s in the same position he is. 

Sighing, Dean digs his toes deeper into the sand and takes a sip of his beer. This is the life he’d always wanted, but never the life he’d pictured for himself. But now, as he looks out at his kids playing on the beach and glances to his right to find his husband just as happy and relaxed as Dean himself is, he can’t picture his life ending up any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Find **me** on [Tumblr](https://fangirlingtodeath513.tumblr.com/) and [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/fangirlingtodeath513)  
  
**Please don’t post my works anywhere without my permission.**


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